Thames To Join C5 Bid

Thames Television is negotiating to take a 15% stake in Five TV, the consortium bidding for the Channel 5 licence.

Five TV, whose backers are understood to include Emap, Time Warner, Columbia Pictures and City TV, is planning a city-based service, which it hopes to launch early next year, a year earlier than the ITC has originally planned.

Other parties interested in the licence include Berlusconi’s Fininvest, Channel S (a consortium headed by former Channel 4 managing director Justin Dukes),Phil Redmond’s Mersey Television and Northern Independent Producers,headed by former YTV managing director Stuart Wilson.

The ITC last week announced its intention to issue the invitation to tender in April. The deadline for applications is expected to be July, with the licence awarded by October.

ITC: 071 584 7011